Chapter 22

Samuel walked over to the group and said "I want to thank all of you for staying tonight and hope that you enjoyed the experience as much as I did, Now I asked all of you to stay behind because I needed to ask some questions about the happenings inside of that school, I know Augusta wants to hear this as well, so if all of you could wait for a few minutes while we wrap this up we would be most appreciative."

All of them nodded and moved off to one side. When they were apart from the main group Hermione asked "what do you think they want to know? I hope we're not in trouble."

Harry sighed and said "I believe they will be asking about the troll and possibly matters relating to the Stone as well."

Tracey blushed and squeaked out "I might have mentioned to Daddy something along those lines guys; sorry."

Daphne sighed and said "I did as well, especially since two of my friends are involved."

Hermione looked at her and said in a wondering voice "you mean Harry and I?"

Looking at her as if she was the densest person on the face of the planet Daphne replied "of course I meant you and Harry, Hermione. Not only were you almost killed by that troll, but Harry could have been seriously hurt by those protections surrounding the stone. When my friends are in danger or did something completely reckless inside the school then of course I will mention it to my Dad as he is on the school board of governors."

Harry sighed and nodded saying "you are of course correct Daphne and Tracey in doing so, but please mention it to us when you do so in the future please." Daphne and Tracey nodded while blushing. The group then talked amongst themselves for about ten minutes as the grownups said their farewells to each other. About that time Harry saw Samuel, his wives, Brian Abbott, his wife and Augusta making their way towards them and he said in a quiet voice "get ready guys, they're inbound."

Samuel nodded to the group when he had come to about five paces from them and said "I suggest we all sit down as this could take awhile." He then conjured several comfortable chairs for all of them to sit on then sat down himself. He looked at them then stated "as you might already know my daughters have mentioned in their letters to me and my wives some disturbing things going on in that school that I was previously unaware of. These things include a troll almost killing two of you, a three headed dog taller than an adult located behind an easily unlocked door, certain 'protections' that a knowledgeable first year got past, a warning to the whole school about suffering a most painful death if they went into a forbidden corridor and the most prized stone in the world being stored in Hogwart's during the school year. I would dearly like an explanation for these things."

Augusta had listened to Samuel's recitation and was shocked to her core at what her son and his friends had faced in only three months! And what this meant for the future if things like this continued happening.

Harry looked at them then sighed and said "since I'm the one that has been in all of those situations I guess I should explain them." Seeing all of his friends nervously nod he said "the story starts with Hagrid reintroducing me to the wizarding world and our trip to Diagon Alley after he found my so called relatives and me when he delivered my letter. At the same time he went with me to my trust vault he picked up a small package out of vault 713. Well while doing so he never mentioned what it was but he did answer my questions saying that it was Hogwart's business and was doing so for Dumbledore. Well the story next picks up during the opening feast where Dumbledore mentioned that the third floor corridor on the right hand side was out of bounds for all those who did not wish to die a most painful death. Being extremely curious and suspicious I checked it out that night while using my invisibility cloak. Behind that door I saw a Cerberus which I saw was asleep at the time due to some music being played. Spying a trap door I dropped down and encountered Devil's Snare, then a room of flying keys with brooms available, a giant chessboard, an empty chamber and finally a room that sealed itself with flames where you had to take a correct potion to advance. Above the table holding the potions was a riddle that told you the correct one. Beyond the potion room was an empty room except for the Sorcerer's Stone sitting on top of a plinth. I replaced that one with a transfigured stone and was able with the help of my owl to return the stone to the Flamel's."

Samuel asked when Harry had finished his recitation "how did you get past these obstacles Harry?"

"Well the Devil's Snare is covered in our first year Herbology book, the key could summoned by an accio which is probably the most useful everyday spell I have ever heard of, I was able to use the broom to fly over the chess set and I am in Ravenclaw so the riddle was rather easy and there was a potion available to get back to the entrance."

Samuel nodded then said "ok then. How in the name of the gods did your owl reach the Flamel's?"

"Well she is a true familiar sir, thus apparently she can get past any and all wards that pertain to owls and their packages" Harry stated with a lopsided grin.

Samuel nodded and thought for a few seconds then stated "reckless Gryffindor tendencies to go in the first place, used intellect and cunning to achieve your goals and kindness and loyalty to return the Stone to its rightful owners. I pity the Sorting Hat when it met you." Shaking his head he said "that explains how you overcame the obstacles, but how did you recognize it was the Sorcerer's Stone in the first place?"

"Well my first ever chocolate frog card was Dumbledore's and it mentioned the Flamel's when he worked alongside them in discovering the twelve uses of dragon blood; the name reminded me of a distant legend that the muggles have so I looked it up and found out about them as well as their creation. So when I saw the stone I knew that's what it was."

Augusta said "muggles know about the Flamel's?"

Harry nodded and said "they do, in fact a lot of things in the magical world have become tall tales or legends in the muggle world, such as flying carpets, the Cerberus, flying on broomsticks, Merlin, King Arthur, Morganna Le Fay, dragons and phoenixes."

Samuel said "ok that explains how you recognized it was the Sorcerer's Stone but I do want to know why you went and did this Harry without telling anyone beforehand."

"Well it seemed to me that this was possibly some sort of bizarre test of Dumbledore's. You see the first year I return from my exile to the Wizarding world and my first year here at Hogwarts and something like this happens? Couple that to Dumbledore knowing that Voldemort is still around and it seemed to me that he was potentially setting up a confrontation between Voldemort or one of his followers and I. As for the reason I didn't tell anyone in the castle before I carried out my actions? I didn't know or trust anyone in a position of authority at the time as well as the concern that if someone was alerted it could lead to a meaningless confrontation where Dumbledore would slip out of trouble and he would be alerted that his grand plan was a failure."

Samuel thought about this for a few seconds then nodded and said "I can see where he might have done something like that, after all no one is as smart or capable as the great Dumbledore" Samuel said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "As for your concern it is well founded as I don't think Dumbledore would long tolerate any direct challenges to his authority in his domain and if this had happened before Hogwarts decided to step in then you would be right. As the situation stands right now I believe that Professor Flitwick is possibly the only Head of House that will stand up to or defy Dumbledore right now. Professor McGonagoll has long been a blind believer in Dumbledore and Professor Sprout is more concerned about the safety of the students in her care than things that are outside of the school." Samuel sat in thought for a few minutes then said "Alright now what's with the troll then?"

Hermione answered him saying "the day of the troll started off when, after my potions class, I had an upset stomach and made my way to the girl's water closet. I was in there for a few hours until my stomach finally settled; I was washing up when the door opened and a troll entered. Naturally I screamed in panic and was frozen in fear as it was about to kill me when Harry arrived."

Harry took over saying "I knew that Hermione was in the loo but thought nothing of it until during the beginning of the Samhain feast when Quirrell came into the Hall and shouted out that there was a troll in the dungeons before passing out. Dumbledore then shouted for all prefects to lead their House to their dorms. I protested this as the Slytherin dorms are located in the dungeons which Dumbledore seemed to have 'forgotten'; he changed the announcement to have the Slytherins to stay there while the teachers were to accompany him to deal with the troll. Knowing Hermione was in the bathroom and unaware of the danger I used my father's map and went to where she was as quickly as I could. I arrived in time to see the troll ducking into the very bathroom Hermione was in so I went in and used a spell chain that I had worked out recently. It worked and the troll was killed before any harm could happen to Hermione who was petrified in terror. I was comforting Hermione when about two minutes after killing the troll Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagoll, Pompfrey, Quirrell and Flitwick arrived. After telling them what happened Dumbledore tried to berate me for killing the troll and not subduing it, but Flitwick stopped him and berated him for implying he would rather see one of his students die than taking care of the problem. Professor Flitwick awarded me points for the usage of a spell chain, the forte and maximus enhancements and for seeing to my responsibility as a leader of my year in Ravenclaw. He then sent us on to the Ravenclaw dorm. Once there we only told the students that I had gone to gather Hermione and ran into Professor Flitwick on our way back. I only told Tracey, Daphne and Neville what had actually happened but a Gryffindor named Ronald Weasley began spreading rumors that I had killed the troll and that this action was a sign that I was turning Dark and would be the next Dark Lord."

Daphne said "we could only speculate that it was either Professor McGonagoll or the Headmaster who told the details to Ronald and had Ron spread the tale of what happened that night. We don't really know who did so."

Harry countered her saying "actually I do now since I expressed our concerns to Professor Flitwick and he talked to Professor McGonagoll about them. In that conversation he learned that McGonagoll had nothing to do with the rumor she has since vowed to stop Ronald from spreading it further."

Augusta had listened to the recounting and asked "what do you mean by your father's map Harry?"

"Apparently my father and his friends were rather clever and created a map that shows not only all of Hogwarts, the shortest path between two points, the current configuration of the staircases, all of the shortcuts and secret passages and it also shows all of the people currently in the castle" Harry answered her.

Augusta nodded and said "that is an impressive piece of magic Harry. I was hoping that you could recreate it or make some copies to pass along to Neville and the others."

Harry thought for a few seconds then said "I planned on doing so shortly, but the spells are rather complex and it is currently beyond my capabilities right now. In addition I need to find the central ward stone of Hogwarts to tie into the map before I can complete it as well. According to my dad's journal I should have no problem finding it after my thirteenth birthday when my mage sight activates, as that ability was passed down to me from him as well."

Augusta nodded and said "thank you for offering to do this as I feel that it will prove extremely beneficial for this group to have a copy for each of them; as well as any other students that join you in worshipping the Goddess and God as well as dedicating themselves to magic."

"I fell the same way and as soon as I can I will do so" Harry assured the group.

Brian cleared his throat and when the group looked at him they saw that he had an interesting expression on his face. Brian quietly stated to the group "I have some concerns about the fallout of what happened when you had to confront the troll that night Hermione and Harry." Seeing everyone looking intently at him he asked "have any of you ever heard of a life debt?" Seeing the clueless expressions on the children's faces as well as the slightly puzzled expressions on the adults he explained. "A life debt is something that magic sometimes assigns between two people. Now they're not really understood completely but from what I know of they generally occur between two people when a person risks his or her life to save someone from dying when that person or those he calls friends didn't have a hand in causing that person's mortal peril. The level of a life debt varies greatly and is generally seen as an indication of a combination of factors such as; the innocence of the person saving your life, how close you were to dying, the sexual preferences between the two and how dangerous it was for the person to save your life if something went wrong. Wizards have created three spells dealing with this phenomenon and they are in order: the first spell is to see if you are owed a life debt and the name of the person who owes it; the second spell will tell a person if they owe a life debt and the name of the person they owe it to; the last spell tells the degree of the debt owed."

Hermione hesitantly asked "excuse me sir but what do you mean the degree of debt owed?"

"Well learned wizards in the past were able to quantify the level of debt and some of the consequences of that various level. They put it into a graph of 1-100 with 1 being the highest level owed and 100 being the lowest. You see the higher level you owe than the greater the debt will change you to be a better fit for the one you owe the debt to." Brian paused then said "now if a person owes a debt higher than 10 then they could possibly change drastically and those changes will become permanent; while a person who owes a level 50 debt will be somewhat changed and a person who owes a level 100 debt will hardly be affected at all."

Harry asked "you brought this up because you think Hermione owes me a debt sir, didn't you?"

"I did Harry; and the reason I brought it up is it will complicate matters for you and Hermione when you move forward with the attempt to gain guardianship of her. You see if a normal witch or wizard, one that was not a Lord of either an Ancient, Noble or Ancient and Noble House tried to gain guardianship then the life debt or anything else would not matter in the slightest; however if someone who is in that position tries to gain guardianship then a life debt or some other matters come into effect. Now before I say anything else I suggest that all of you cast the spell that tells you if you owe a life debt or not and we can go on from there."

They all nodded and one by one they cast the spell and to no one's surprise Tracey and Daphne did not owe one. However everyone was shocked when Neville showed that he did in fact owe a life debt to Bellatrix LeStrange, none more so than his grandmother. Harry then cast the spell and saw that he did not owe anyone with a sense of relief. He looked over to where Hermione was sitting next to him, Daphne sitting on the other side of him, and said "it's ok Hermione, whatever happens I will always be your friend." Hermione looked at him for several seconds than nodded determinedly and cast the spell and everyone saw that she did indeed owe a life debt to Harry. Harry moved his arm over her shoulders and hugged her in reassurance.

Meanwhile Neville and Augusta had been thinking on how Neville could have gained a life debt to Bellatrix until Neville snapped his fingers when he remembered the recently unblocked memory. He looked at his grandmother and said "remember when I told you how I had been Obliviated that night and how Bellatrix had done what she could to save me? I think I gained it that night; it only makes sense."

Augusta nodded and said "I certainly can't think of where you might have interacted with her at any other time."

Brian listened to this and when Neville mentioned being Obliviated he said "Samuel I feel like I should know of this, I think."

Samuel looked at him the said "alright then." He turned to face both Harry and Neville saying "Lord Potter, Tanist Longbottom with your permission I would like to inform Lord Abbott about all of the things that have happened previously after this meeting."

Harry nodded and said "as long as Lord Abbott realizes that some things will need to remain confidential I see no problem with that Mr. Greengrass-Davis."

Neville thought for a few seconds then replied "I also see no problems with informing Lord Abbott with those stipulations in place."

Samuel nodded and turning to Brian said "I'll tell you later on today alright? About noon sound good?"

Brian nodded and said "that time works for me." He then looked at Neville and said "I ask that you cast the next spell Neville to see how much the level is, I can give you some information if you need it."

Nodding Neville cast the spell and a smoky 90 appeared floating above his wand. He looked at Brian and stated "the number 90 appeared sir."

Nodding Brian said "than you need not worry lad as a level of debt that low will not affect you in anyway except to prevent you from killing or torturing her in anyway; the only other way it will affect you is that you will pay attention to what she says a little more closely than anyone else, but you would still have to believe her or not. These are the only ways it will have an effect on you in any way."

Relived Neville nodded and gratefully replied "thank you for telling me of this."

"No problem lad." He looked at Hermione and said gently "lass I ask that you perform the same spell and I can help you and Harry on how to deal with this."

Gulping Hermione took out her wand and cast the spell, all the blood drained out of her face when a smoky 4 appeared. Looking at the ground she lets out a shaky "four, I have a level four debt."

Hugging Hermione tightly to his side Harry looks at Brian and asks "what does this mean for her sir?"

Brian looking directly at him said "that depends on her somewhat lad." He gave the group a searching look then asked "do you and Hermione want to speak alone with me for awhile? The reason I ask is that there are going to be some very personal questions I'll be asking and I don't want you to be more embarrassed than you have to be."

Hermione looked at him then looked at Harry and said "I trust your judgment Harry, I can't decide right now."

Harry looked at her and said "are you sure?" Seeing her nod and then press her face once more into his side Harry looked at his friends and said "I ask that all of you stay here as I believe that I can trust all of you with my secrets. Just don't allow any preconceived notions that are contrary to yours affect you or cause you to remonstrate against us as it is our choice in how we deal with this, please."

One by one the entire group nodded until Daphne stood up and moved to where she could hug both Hermione and Harry at the same time; as she was hugging them she said softly "I know the two of you and the three of us can work this out, ok?"

Hermione nodded and hugged both of them even tighter in response. Harry looked at them and smiled saying "of course Daphne, together we can do this."

Brian let them sit in silence for a couple of minutes, while they drew comfort from each other, then clearing his throat said "well I believe I mentioned that a person who owes a debt higher than 10 can have their personality change due to the debt owed to become a better fit to the one they owe a debt to. What I meant by that is, say for instance that the person you owe the debt to isn't your friend at all, but is friends with someone else. The debtor would change so that they would all become friends and if the holder of the debt never expressed a romantic attachment then the debtor would probably end up with the best friend of the one he or she owed the debt to even if they would normally detest that person. In addition the debtor would put the concerns of the debt holder above their own and never really complain about something that they held dear. For instance suppose the person holding the debt really enjoyed playing a sport while the debtor has almost no interest in that sport or activity at all, then the debtor would attend the games or join them in that activity even if they really would prefer to do something else. Now this would all happen if the debt was never discovered."